Nobody's Fault
by Lokrume
Summary: Sometimes, things happen. Bad things, that weren't supposed to happen. Mikey has always been the happy party dude who loves driving his brothers crazy. He's never sad. But when something happens that changes that, the brothers are left with a side of Mikey they have never dealt with before. /See Author's Note for details.
1. Chapter 1

Nobody's Fault

**Author's Note:** I wanted to write a story where you get to explore a side of Mikey that isn't the adorable jokester and party dude we all know, while still keeping him in character. The story should still have the same humor and feeling as the show with only a slightly darker touch. I hope you'll all enjoy it! ^-^

(Also, I had my sister test reading this. She wanted me to warn sensitive readers that the ending of this chapter "could" be a bit of a tearjerker. But I'll let you be the judge of that. ^^)

oOoOoOo

"No, go right! Go right!" Donnie coached without taking his eyes off the hovering object. "And then down a little bit-"

"Chillax, bro. I got this." Mikey replied with a reassuring hand gesture. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

Mikey pressed a button on the remote control and made the small hot air balloon move forward, cruising through the air in the lair. The balloon was made out of a bunch of different pieces of cloth sewn together, everything from handkerchiefs to underwear, whilst the motor looked suspiciously a lot like a hair dryer with a propeller attached.

"Now, remember that there are some delay when moving backwards, so if he lashes out, it's better to use left or right in order to avoid-"

"Dude, stop with the backseat flying already." Mikey told Donnie. "I got _mean_ finger skills. I'm telling you, it's like I was born to fly this thing."

"You didn't even _have_ fingers when you were born. None of us did." Donnie pointed out.

"Tell you what." Mikey said with his eyes still fixed on the toy. "If I trash this thing, which isn't gonna happen because I'm steering this baby _awesomely_, I'll give you the rest of my extra special pizza with jelly beans, shrimps, sardines, mushrooms and fudge topping."

"When did we have that for dinner?" Donnie asked in confusion.

"A couple of months ago. I've saved a few slices for a special occasion…"

"_That's _the smell that's been coming from your room?!" Donnie asked in shock.

"Yeah…" Mikey said with a blissful expression. "That's what's so great about pizza. After a while, you don't have to _eat it_ to taste it. And heeere we go~"

The mini blimp had located its target: Raph. The older turtle was currently too immersed in a game of pinball to notice the airborne company and was determined to beat Leo's long standing high score. The blimp closed in on him and a small barrel emerged from the hair dryer.

"Ok, now!" Donnie whispered to Mikey with an amused smile.

A tiny pea shot out from the barrel, hitting Raph hard in the neck. Raph instinctively slapped the spot, like if he'd just been bitten by a mosquito, which made him lose focus and miss the ball. Raph cursed and turned around. This time he noticed the mini blimp.

"Oh, how cute. A little stray invention." Raph said in annoyance. "Did Donnie the Trash-master make ya?"

Mikey grinned and pressed the button several times in a row. The blimp started firing peas like crazy at every part of Raph's face, forcing him to cover it with his hand.

"You wanna fight? Is that it?!" Raph yelled in anger and brought out his sai and charged at the blimp. "Here! I'll pop you like a zit!"

"Wow... I honestly didn't think he would lose it this quickly." Donnie said in surprise. "Looks to me like someone could need some extra meditation sessions with master Splinter- Whoa! Watch out!"

Raph slashed at the blimp, which narrowly avoided the assault. It sped up and fled the scene, going higher up to avoid Raph's attacks. Raph immediately pursued the toy with murderous intent. He threw a shuriken at the balloon, missing it just slightly thanks to a maneuver by Mikey. Raph growled and jumped after the flying machine, which went higher and higher up to hide. Raph was too busy looking up at the target to notice that he was getting closer to the pool of sewer water. So when the blimp made a sudden left turn, Raph followed it without realizing that the floor ended underneath his feet. Raph landed in the water with a loud splash as the blimp victoriously returned home to its owner.

"Bo-yeah! Safe and sound, and not on the ground!" Mikey laughed and gave Donnie a high five. "Man, I wish I could have seen Raph's face when he landed in the water."

"… Why hasn't he turned up yet?" Donnie said, still watching the place where Raph fell in.

The two brothers ran over to take a closer look. Mikey cautiously leaned over the edge, searching for any kind of life in the deep water, but there's wasn't any. Donnie then noticed a shadow reflecting on the water surface and the sound of dripping water made him turned around. Raph was standing right behind them both, soaking wet and with a grim look on his face.

"… That's not the face I wanted to see." Mikey said with a terrified look at his older brother.

"Great fun, guys. Great fun." Raph said with a twisted smile. "But now, let's play one of my games instead… I know a good one called 'Raph will break your bones 'til you scream for mercy'. You start screaming, and I'll be Raph..."

"Wait, wait! Stop." Donnie said in protest. "We were not just tormenting you; we were testing my spy-blimp."

"First roaches with video cameras and now balloons made out of underwear?" Raph asked in annoyance. "Great! Hey, I can help. I'll show you how to turn someone into a spy-_gimp_!"

"I'm serious." Donnie continued. "I thought we could need something that can check out enemy areas unnoticed before we go in there ourselves. You know, as a safety precaution. It got audio and visuals and it even got built in radar system that detects any fast moving object within ten feet so that it can avoid it, like shurikens or other flying projectiles. Pretty cool, huh?"

Raph glared at Donnie with murder eyes, making Donnie back a few steps while scratching his neck.

"So, no hard feelings then?" Donnie asked. "I mean, the pea gun is harmless. Well, fairly harmless, I guess it's technically possible to impair someone's vision in a freak accident, but it was just all in good fun. And we needed an enemy to test it on, so you seemed like the perfect candidate to-"

Raph brought out his sai and pierced the wall behind Donnie with such force that it crumbled a little.

"Mikey was steering." Donnie stated and pointed at his little brother.

"What?!" Mikey yelled in disbelief. "You traitor! You liar! You- AAAH! No! Raph! Mercy! MERCY!"

Raph darted after Mikey with his weapons drawn while Mikey tried his best to get as far away from him as possible.

Leo was sitting in the couch watching TV, while doing his best to filter out the chaos that surrounded him. But he couldn't filter out a panicking Mikey who leaped down into the couch in an attempt to hide behind his older brother. Raph went after him, his weapons still drawn. Leo quickly got up on his feet and used his katana to clash with Raph, stopping him temporarily.

"Back off, Leo!" Raph growled and tried to push him out of the way. "I'm just gonna cut him up a little!"

"You're not cutting up anyone, and especially not in the couch!" Leo told him. "Or were you planning on shopping for a new one?"

Raph glared at him but then took a step back and Leo lowered his sword. Raph threw Mikey an angry glance before putting his weapons back in his belt and returned to the pinball machine. Leo exhaled in relief and sat down in the couch again. Mikey crawled up next to him and stared at Leo in awe.

"Leo… You saved me!" Mikey exclaimed and aimed for a hug. "Aww, my hero! I knew you'd come through for me, bro!"

"Just doing my job." Leo stated indifferently and pushed Mikey off the couch.

Mikey landed on the floor but quickly jumped up again with a disapproving look at Leo. He turned his back on him and spotted Donnie on the other side of the room.

"Hey, Don! Can we try the spy blimp again?" Mikey asked eagerly. "I bet you that I can steer it right between master Splinter's ears without him even noticing."

"In a minute." Donnie answered as he was fiddling with the wires in the remote control. "I'm just gonna make a few modifications to the main controls, and-"

Donnie was interrupted by a poke on his shoulder. When he turned around, Raph was standing behind him. His face was completely deadpan as he handed over the rest of the balloon. It was neatly shredded in tiny pieces and was dangling from his sai like a dead snake. Donnie hesitantly picked it up with the look of someone who's dealing with a psychopath, as Raph calmly left.

"Actually, it's gonna be more than just a few extra modifications." Donnie said with a glance at the mess of wires and plastic.

"And how long will _that_ take?" Mikey asked.

"Honestly? It might be quicker to just build a new one." Donnie answered.

Mikey's gleeful face changed into a sulky one as he sat down in the couch with his arms crossed. He glanced at Leo who was completely focused on the show. Mikey looked down at the remote control next to Leo and grinned in delight. He sneaked closer to the spot without Leo noticing and then, quick as cobra, snatched the remote and jumped away from the spot.

"Mikey!" Leo yelled and turned towards him. "Give that back!"

"Why? I'm just holding it." Mikey said teasingly and pointed the remote control at the TV screen while holding one finger just above the zap button.

"If you touch one button on that thing, I'll... " Leo started threateningly, but then hesitated. "… Be… more responsible and grown up than Raph, and not chase you around the lair."

"… I'm not following you." Mikey said in confusion.

"Just hand it back, Mikey!"

"Nuh uh! It wouldn't be a game of tag if I just handed it back to you. You have to catch me first. Those are the rules."

"Or I could ignore your childish act and simply change back manually whenever you try to change the channel." Leo replied calmly and sat down in the couch again.

Mikey looked annoyed and then started pressing the button repeatedly. Several channels flashed by in extreme speed, making it impossible to distinguish anything but a sea of colors. And it was incredibly annoying. Leo sighed and left the couch witch a frustrated glare at Mikey.

"Still want me to back off?" Raph asked curiously from the pinball machine.

Leo looked from Raph to Mikey and then back to Raph.

"Knock yourself out." Leo stated calmly and sat down again.

"What-HEY!" Mikey yelled and looked at Raph who cracked his neck and grinned menacingly at him before charging towards Mikey. Mikey screamed and jumped over the couch in order to get away. "This is unfair! I don't even have a weapon! THIS IS _SO_ NOT FAIR!"

"Stop running and I promise that I won't hurt you!" Raph screamed back, following him closely.

"LIAR!" Mikey yelled, still holding on to the remote control and jumped up on his skateboard.

With Mikey suddenly on his skateboard, Raph had more trouble keeping up with him. Mikey soon noticed his unexpected advantage and started to laugh nervously as he sped up. He made a lot of sudden turns to confuse Raph and almost lured him down in the water again.

"Hey! THAT is unfair! No skateboarding in the lair!" Raph yelled at Mikey and made a leap for him, but missed just barely.

"Good! Then we're even!" Mikey panted with a smile, but realized too late that he forgot to watch where he was going. The reminder came in the form of a solid pinball machine in Mikey's way, causing him to crash right into it with a nasty crack. A small noise from the machine told the player that he just lost a ball.

Leo and Donnie looked up at the noise and immediately went to check on Mikey. Mikey was lying on the ground beside the machine and was moving slightly. It seemed like the impact had temporarily dazed him. This however didn't stop Raph from landing heavily on Mikey and wrap an arm around his throat while pointing a sai to it.

"Tag, you're 'it'." Raph said ruthlessly and kept a strangling grip around Mikey's throat.

"Are you guys okay?" Leo asked, accompanied by Donnie.

"We're fine." Raph said in annoyance. His arm was still around Mikey, who was making noises that sounded far from fine.

"Raph, get off of him!" Leo yelled at Raph as he and Donnie quickly started pulling the two turtles apart.

"What?!" Raph said and tried to shake them off. "So now you're on his side again? Why don't you make up your mind?!"

"You don't strangle someone for taking a stupid remote, I shouldn't have to tell you that!" Leo said in annoyance.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Raph said and finally let go of Mikey. Donnie helped their little brother up on his feet and gave him a pat on the back. Mikey coughed a few times, but other than that he seemed to be alright. "I just don't get why the two of you have to fuss over him all the time! You're treating him like a baby when he really deserves a punch in the face."

"Of course we do, he's our baby brother." Leo replied in irritation. "Not to mention yours. You can't beat him up for every annoying thing he does."

"Like accidentally trashing the remote to the TV…?" Mikey asked with a nervous smile and held up the remote. The two batteries were sticking out and a big chunk of plastic was missing.

Leo picked it up and gave the remote a tired look before turning to Donnie.

"Don, do you think you can fix this?" Leo asked and handed it over.

"Let me see." Donnie said and turned the object over in his hand. He brought it closer to his eye and studied it carefully before sighing and handing it back to Leo. "There's nothing I can do."

Raph gave Mikey a glare and was just about to slap him over the head, but was interrupted by Donnie who stepped between them.

"Because there's nothing to fix!" Donnie told them in irritation. "It's just the lid to the battery hatch that has come off! Anyone with two brain cells and a roll of tape can fix it! Seriously, guys. I'm not asking you to read books about quantum physics. All I ask is _that you read a book_!"

"Oh… That's great!" Leo said with an awkward smile. "Thanks… Donnie."

"Still, it's always Mikey who messes things up around here." Raph continued with an agitated look. "He's the only one who trashes stuff, makes my life a misery, _and_ turns this place upside down just because he's bored! And I'm tired of you guys protecting him all the time."

"We are not protecting him all the time." Leo told Raph sternly. "But sometimes, you're the one who seriously needs to work on your patience."

"Leo's got a point, you know." Donnie agreed. "I mean, Mikey might be the one who causes all the trouble around here, but you're usually the one bringing all the destruction. It's like the two of you put together becomes an unstoppable force of chaos. … And _that's_ what turns this place upside down."

"Oh, of course! So in the end, everything is my fault!" Raph retorted. "Big surprise!"

"… I don't think that's what I said." Donnie said with a frown.

"Come on, dude… Where's that brotherly love?" Mikey smiled and sneaked up beside Raph and wrapped his arms around him in a heartwarming hug. "I'll share my next pizza with you. Will that make you feel better, bro?"

"Be someone else's brother for a change." Raph said in frustration and pushed Mikey away. "I'm out of here."

"Well… Maybe I _want_ a new brother!" Mikey told him in annoyance. "A better brother! Who doesn't try to _cut my throat_ every single day! Actually… I got two who doesn't do that!"

Raph slammed the door to his room without a word, and Leo patted Mikey's shoulder.

"Let him sulk for a while." Leo stated. "When he's in that mood, nothing anyone says is gonna make him feel better. He'll be back to his old, loud, mean self again in an hour or so."

"But speaking of pizza…" Donnie said with a hand on his stomach. "Am I the only one here who's starving?"

"You mean like anchovies, pepperoni, with extra cheese-starving…?" Mikey asked in a much more cheerful voice. "Because I know just the cure-"

Mikey picked up his t-phone, but then hesitated with a confused look.

"… Actually, I don't." Mikey said. "Do you guys have the number to that new pizza place we found last week?"

"Donnie, you make the order." Leo said and tossed the phone to Donnie. "Mikey, you get the pizza. Maybe the smell will lure the grump out of his room and cheer him up a little. A Raph with food in his stomach is usually the one I prefer to be around anyway…"

oOoOoOo

The pizza guy stopped his scooter and stared in confusion. He picked up a notepad and checked the address again. According to it, this was the right place. However, the apartment of the address looked suspiciously abandoned. Not to mention that the whole building looked like it was about to be demolished. There was even a ready bulldozer parked beside it.

He got off his vehicle and picked up a steaming box from the back. He then walked up to the door and was just about to knock when he noticed an envelope pinned to the door. The text on the front said "To Pizza Dude".

He frowned but opened it anyway. Inside it were some money and a note:

Hi Pizza Guy  
Here Is Money  
Leave Pizza Here  
Don't Look Back  
Your Job Is Awesome By The Way

"Um… Thanks?" The pizza guy said with a semi smile and put down the pizza on the doorstep, but kept the note and the money. He sat up on his scooter and looked back at the apartment, only to discover that the pizza box was gone. He boggled his eyes and looked around everywhere, but didn't see a soul that could have taken it. After a minute, he just shook his head and drove off.

On the rooftop above sat Mikey. He glanced down at the deliverer while inhaling the fumes of the pizza with a blissful smile.

"Haaah…" Mikey sighed and jumped over to the next roof.

As Mikey skillfully leaped from building to building, he couldn't help but throwing longing looks at the box he was carrying. The warmth of the box was melting his heart and the scent of the deliciousness made him drool…

Mikey never had very good self-discipline. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and sat down with the box. He opened it in anticipation and stared at the glistening cheese and pepperoni inside.

"… Okay, Michelangelo. Just _one_ slice." Mikey told himself and picked up a piece. "You can't concentrate with an empty stomach. Even Splinter says so. … Or, I bet he has. At some point. I should ask Leo."

Mikey licked his lips and was just about to take a bite of the slice when he heard a noise from below the building. Mikey listened closely. It sounded like a couple of people laughing. But Mikey didn't like the sound of their laughter… Not one bit.

Mikey left the pizza and sneaked up to the edge of the roof and looked down at the guys below him. It took a moment before he realized what was going on and his eyes widened in horror at the scene. He wished that he hadn't looked.

oOoOoOo

Leo was standing in the middle of the dojo. His katanas was lying on the floor beside him and he was wearing a blindfold. Donnie was standing a few feet behind him, leaning against his staff.

"Is this really necessary?" Donnie asked with a sigh. "If you want to spend your free time training, that's fine. But I don't get why _your_ training has to include _me_."

"Because I can't attack myself now, can I?" Leo said and took on a fighting pose. "This is good training for both of us. Try to come at me with your staff, and I'll try to block it."

"Let me get this straight. This is really what you want to do for the next ten minutes?" Donnie asked in disbelief.

"For the last time; yes." Leo sighed. "So let's go. I'm not even armed, just go for it."

"Sure. It's not like I have better things to do than beating up unarmed blind people…" Donnie said and shook his head, but then used his staff to attack Leo's left side.

Leo blocked the attack easily by grabbing the staff and then used the force against Donnie, throwing him across the room. Donnie hit the floor hard with a pained thud.

"Good, keep that up." Leo said encouragingly and assumed another fighting pose.

"… I'd rather keep working on the spy blimp." Donnie muttered as he got up.

Suddenly, Raph walked inside the dojo. Bored by the solitude in his room, he had decided to check out what the commotion was about. When he saw the two turtles training, a smile suddenly spread across his face and he walked over to Donnie.

"Come on, Don. Just attack me already." Leo told him impatiently. "I'll try to go easy on you."

Donnie was just about to give it another try when Raph stopped him by putting a hand on the stick. Donnie looked at him in confusion but then smiled in realization. He handed over the bō staff to Raph who took it with a gleaming grin.

"I can _hear_ you thinking, Donnie." Leo sighed and scratched his neck. "It doesn't matter what strategy you come up with. This exercise is about enhancing your other senses and trusting your instincts, it's not like chess or-"

Raph swung the staff at Leo with such speed that he didn't have time to duck. The staff hit him in the back of his head so hard that Leo almost lost his balance.

"Okay, you caught me off guard. I'll give you that." Leo frowned in surprise but immediately resumed his fighting position. "But it won't happen again. Just come at me like if it was a real battle-"

Raph took the invitation and immediately attacked Leo from behind. This time, the staff hit his shell. Leo winced and tried to locate Raph's position, but it was difficult since Raph was running around Leo in a big circle. He kept attacking Leo viciously whenever he could, forcing Leo to block blow after blow.

"Donnie, what are you doing?" Leo asked in annoyance and barely managed to avoid a blow to the head.

"Nothing." Donnie said with an honest smile.

"Oh yeah? For being nothing it sure feels like a lot of something." Leo said as he blocked another attack and gritted his teeth in pain. "Ow! Seriously. it's almost like fighting Raph!"

"Can't argue with that." Donnie agreed and picked a naginata from the wall of weapons.

Soon, both Raph and Donnie were running around Leo, attacking him at the same time. Leo could only block half of the attacks and was growing more and more confused over how Donnie could hit him from so many directions.

"How did you- *slap* When did- *slap* How are you doing this?!" Leo said as he tried to listen where the enemy was in order to anticipate the attacks. "This isn't- *slap* You're not- *slap* What the heck- RAPH!"

Leo rapidly picked up his katanas and slashed at the incoming blow, cutting both the naginata and the bō staff in half. He tore off the blindfold and glared at Raph who was grinning in amusement as he tossed the broken weapon aside.

"What?" Raph said with a shrug. "You said 'real battle'. Real battles have surprises. And besides, we're usually outnumbered."

"And just like in _real life_, you somehow manage to undermine my training even though you weren't even part of it." Leo stated.

"Happy to do it." Raph said and gave Leo a pat on the shoulder.

"I wonder what's taking Mikey so long. It has almost been half an hour." Donnie said and picked up the broken weapons in order to dispose them. "He's usually not so easily distracted when carrying food."

"I'm not surprised." Raph said grumpily at the mention of Mikey and left the dojo. "He probably ate that pizza on his way here and now he doesn't dare to show his face."

"You're being unfair, Raph." Leo said and followed him out of the dojo. "Our first thought shouldn't be that he has messed something up, our first concern should be that something might have happened. But on the other hand… it is Mikey were talking about."

"Especially considering the sudden increase of mutagen canisters all over the city that's totally not our fault." Donnie said sarcastically and tossed the pieces in a cardboard box filled with broken staffs. "He could have been eaten by a giant, slimy, mutated snail for all we know."

"It's so sad that you'd rather think that Mikey got eaten by a mutated snail than that Mikey ate all the pizza." Raph told Donnie. "Like, really sad."

"I don't think that 'sad' applies to this scenario at all." Donnie disagreed.

"Enough." Leo interrupted. "We give him two more minutes, and then we'll go look for him. And I mean all of us. Raph, you okay with that?"

"Sure." Raph said disapprovingly and walked over to the couch.

"Great." Leo said and ran up behind Raph and swiped his legs, making him crash to the floor. "… Because that gives me two minutes to kick your butt for messing with me."

Raph rolled over on his back and jumped up on his feet with a malicious grin.

"Oh, you're so on!" Raph said and leaped at Leo, dragging him down on the floor with him.

"While the two of you are beating each other senseless, I'm going to the lab." Donnie informed his brothers before he left. "I'll call for you when two minutes are up! Not that you're gonna hear it anyway…"

While Leo and Raph were throwing punches and trying to kick each other in the guts, there was a voice echoing through the sewer tunnels. However, none of the turtles were able to hear it at first. The echoing voice was getting closer and soon started to sound very similar to Mikey's.

"Wait, did you hear that?" Leo asked Raph as he freed himself from his brother's grip.

"Hah! Nice try, Leo." Raph replied and pinned him to the floor again. But then he hesitated as he could clearly hear Mikey's voice calling something down the tunnel.

Leo and Raph gave each other one look and then quickly left the spot to check what was going on. They had barely reached the turnstiles when Mikey suddenly appeared around a corner and rushed past them without giving them as much as a look.

"DONNIE!" Mikey yelled and looked around in panic. "Donnie! Where are you?! DON!"

"Geez… Stop _screaming_! Thanks a lot, Mikey. Now I'm starving AND deaf!" Raph yelled back, but then noticed that Mikey was carrying a shoe box in his arms. "… And unless they've changed the shape of the pizzas, I'm guessing that's not our dinner."

"Mikey, are you okay-" Leo began.

"Where's Donnie?!" Mikey panted, holding the box in a tight grip.

"In his lab, but- Mikey!" Leo shouted as Mikey darted towards the lab. "Hang on a second! What's going on?!"

Mikey didn't answer and ran inside the lab, almost crashing right into Donnie who just had left to check on the noise. Donnie grabbed Mikey's shoulders to keep him from tripping and looked at him in surprise.

"Whoa, Mikey! What's wrong?" Donnie asked.

"You gotta help! Come on, move your shell!" Mikey said and grabbed his brother's hand in order to drag Donnie with him inside the lab. "HURRY!"

"Yes, yes. Of course." Donnie said as he followed Mikey back inside the lab. "But… Hey, take it easy. Help with what? Are you hurt?"

Both Leo and Raph looked at each other at the last question and ran after them. Mikey let go of Donnie's hand and stopped at the examining table to put down the shoe box.

"He's in a really bad shape, bro." Mikey explained. "There was blood, and stuff, and thugs and… and then I ran here, and- You have to do something!"

"Alright, alright. Just calm down and let me have a look." Donnie answered calmly and opened the box.

In the shoe box on an old dirty t-shirt, lied a kitten. The fur was gray with dark stripes and it was lying outstretched on the improvised mattress with its eyes closed. Based on the size it couldn't be more than two months old and there were small spots of blood around its mouth. It wasn't moving.

"Oh, Mikey…" Donnie said sadly.

"Don't just stand there, do something!" Mikey said with a desperate look at the kitten. "Can you fix him? You can fix him right? Come on, bro. I know you can-"

"No, Mikey- I can't!" Donnie said in distress. "This isn't like a broken TV remote, I'm not a doctor. I'm not even close to a veterinarian…! I don't even know where to start!"

"You have to! You're the smart one!" Mikey said with a pleading look. "Please, Donnie. There's no one else who can."

Donnie closed his eyes tightly in anguish but then looked at Mikey. He took a deep breath and carefully picked up the kitten. He turned it over cautiously and brought it over to a desk lamp to examine it closer. Mikey looked over his shoulder, watching his brother's every move.

"You can do it, Donnie…" Mikey whispered in his ear. "I believe in you, bro…"

"Not the time for pep talk, Mikey." Donnie informed and reached for a magnifying tool.

"Don, is there anything we can do to help?" Leo offered.

"Yes. Step outside or be quiet." Donnie said without looking up. "This kitten isn't exactly the size of a mutated turtle… I'm gonna need to concentrate."

"O-key…" Leo said carefully in a low voice, putting a hand on Mikey's shoulder and ushered him to move back a few steps with him and Raph.

Donnie brought the lamp closer to the kitten and gently opened one of its eyes. His face turned serious and he pushed back the lamp. He then took the kitten's paw and moved the leg forth and back, watching the movement closely. Donnie laid the kitten down in his hand and carefully prodded its body, seemingly looking for something. He ended the examination by putting two fingers on the kitten's chest. Donnie sighed and gently put the small ball of fur back in the box.

"Mikey, I'm…" Donnie hesitated, his shoulders slumped.

"Is he gonna make it?" Mikey asked with his eyes wide in anticipation.

"Mikey, I'm so sorry…" Donnie said with a sad look at his brother.

Mikey just stared at Donnie without moving a muscle. Like if Donnie's words had been in another language and he tried to figure out what he meant by them. Mikey then walked up to the box and looked down at the kitten.

"Is he dead?" Mikey asked with blank expression.

"Yes." Donnie answered.

"So he's not gonna wake up?"

"No."

"But... Can't you make him better?" Mikey asked and glanced at Donnie.

"I can't. I really can't-" Donnie tried to explain.

"Why not?!" Mikey asked with an upset look at Donnie. "You're the smartest guy I know! Can't you make something that will help, or invent a-"

"Mikey, please stop." Donnie said with a begging look.

"But this shouldn't have happened!" Mikey told him. "I ran here the fastest I could!"

"The injuries were fatal, it wouldn't have mattered how fast you ran." Donnie explained.

"But it shouldn't have-"

"Mikey…! It's too late." Donnie said and put his hands on Mikey's shoulders, his eyes filled with sorrow. "There's nothing anyone can do, or could have done. It was probably too late already when you picked him up-"

"He mewed..." Mikey interrupted, and looked at the kitten in the box. "He mewed when I picked him up. He wasn't dead when I found him."

"I don't know what to say…" Donnie said with a dejected look. "I wish I could do something, I really do. But I can't. I'm sorry…"

Mikey kept staring down at the kitten. He then put the lid back and picked up the box and left the lab without as much as a word.

"Mikey. This isn't your fault. Wait, Mikey…! It wasn't your-" Donnie called out, but his little brother had already left.

Leo and Raph watched Mikey disappear and then turned to Donnie. He gave his brothers an incredibly dejected look and turned off the desk lamp.

"He's not gonna be fine, you know." Donnie said.

"I think you're right." Leo said with a nod and left. "I'll go talk to him."

Raph stayed behind and walked up to Donnie, not sure what to say.

"How did he find that kitten anyway?" Raph said, more for the sake of talking than an actual question.

"I don't know…" Donnie sighed tiredly.

"I mean, he was supposed to get pizza." Raph continued. "Who manages to come home with a cat and a shoe box instead?"

Donnie didn't answer this time and just gave Raph a drained look. Raph scratched his neck and glanced a bit awkwardly at his brother.

"How did it die by the way?" Raph asked.

"Based on the injuries, I think I have a pretty good idea how." Donnie said bitterly and walked over to the remaining pieces of the spy blimp.

"Oh yeah? Tell me." Raph said and leaned against the table.

"You're not gonna like it." Donnie stated.

"Probably. I don't like a lot of things." Raph said indifferently. "Tell me."

"Well… Based on the examination, there wasn't one bone left in that cat's body that wasn't broken. Including the neck…" Donnie explained and looked at Raph. "Someone killed that cat. And I think that Mikey saw the whole thing."

oOoOoOo

**Next Chapter**: I think we all want to know how Mikey will deal with this. But how will his brothers deal with Mikey? And if you thought that this chapter lacked Splinters and Aprils, you'll be happy to know that chapter 2 will be much richer in that regard.

**Author's Note**: If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review! If you don't, I won't know if anyone is reading this story. And by all means, please leave a comment even if you didn't like it and tell me why it sucked! :) As long as it helps me improve myself, I encourage any kind of critique.


	2. Chapter 2

Nobody's Fault

**AN**: Okay, I can't quite contain myself: I am SO GRATEFUL to you guys! I just want to reach through the computer screen and wrap my arms around you in the warmest hug you could possibly imagine! \(^0^)/ You have no idea how much every single follow, favorite and review has brightened my day. My self-esteem is extremely low so it isn't easy for me to put my stories up for others to read (my sister pretty much made me put it up under gun-point...).

I sincerely hope that you'll like this chapter too. :) Even though it's a little shorter than the last one. I wanted to add one more scene to it, but then I wouldn't be able to update this story until next weekend… So here it is; A little shorter, but a little earlier.

Enjoy!

oOoOoOo

"You did well today, April." Splinter told her as they took left in the sewer tunnel that led home. "Your skills are improving."

"Thanks, sensei. Glad that at least one of us thinks so..." April said with a semi smile and tried to squeeze the water out of her pony tail. "But it feels like I would have been better off in a swimsuit than my regular clothes…"

"This was not a swimming lesson. The training was to learn how to control your balance." Splinter explained.

"I get that." April nodded. "But next time, couldn't we do this exercise in a… Well, drier place?"

"It is a perfectly dry place." Splinter said with a smile. "As long as you stay out of the water."

"Yeah, that's kinda my point..." April said while wringing out the water of her shirt. "Why can't we do this in the dojo? I can balance on a plank there just as well as above a water supply."

"Water breaks your fall better than solid ground." Splinter said and gave April a look. "I can assure you, it is a much more suitable environment for this sort of training."

"… It's also colder." April pointed out and made an involuntary shiver.

"Balance is one of the most important basics in a kunoichi's training." Splinter explained and gave April a pat on the shoulder. "Once you have mastered it completely, you will see that it can be a powerful weapon against an enemy."

"I thought you said that a kunoichi's most powerful weapon is the mind?" April asked with a frown.

"It is. And balance." Splinter answered simply. "Among other things. Lots of things. We will get to them later."

"When I've learned how to not fall down from a two inches wide plank about three feet above a pool of water...?" April asked with a small sigh.

"Yes." Splinter said and smiled at April. "Eventually. Rigorous training will result in improvement. Complaining however, will not."

"I wasn't complaining...!" April said defensively as Splinter chuckled.

They had finally arrived at the lair and were just about to pass the turnstiles when an explosion was heard from the turtles' home. Small burning pieces of cloth and metal were flying in every direction. The ninja master used his cane to easily hit back the tiny projectiles, while April instinctively brought out her fan to protect herself from a sharp piece of metal that was coming for her head. Splinter glanced at her with interest.

"See? Your skills truly are improving." Splinter stated.

"Or I'm just getting disturbingly used to stuff blowing up right next to me." April said with an uncertain smile and put the tessai back in her belt.

Inside the lair, Donnie was busy picking up the pieces of what only ten seconds ago had been known as spy blimp 2.0. The once magnificent airship was now reduced to a smoking pile of burned wires, metal pieces, and melted plastic.

"Okay, just for the record: That was NOT supposed to happen!" Donnie announced to his brothers as he scooped up the pieces and tossed them into a small bucket.

"Are you sure about that, Donnie?" Raph asked in annoyance as he pierced the training doll's skull with his sai. "'Cause I was just thinking how we could really use a remote controlled balloon that blows up in our faces!"

"For the last time, it's a _spy blimp_." Donnie corrected him. "Stop calling it a balloon. You're making it sound like something that escaped from some kid's birthday party."

"… Pretty sure no parent would let that thing near their kids." Raph stated with a glance at the scorched parts on the floor.

"Maybe you should give it a rest, Donnie?" Leo suggested from the couch, looking up from his comic book. "I mean, you've been working on that spy blimp nonstop. Why are you trying so hard with something that we don't even need for the moment?"

"For the same reason we didn't need Metalhead, the patrol buggies, the t-phones, the smoke bombs, the shell racer, and the turtle sub." Donnie explained calmly but then turned to Leo in annoyance. "Because in the end we always DO need them! Or do your prefer it when I throw something together in the last minute before a mission while you guys are screaming at me to work faster!?"

Leo looked up at Donnie and stared at him in surprise, completely taken aback by the sudden outburst.

"Um… Are you alright there, Donnie?" Leo asked uncertainly.

"Really, Leo?" Donnie asked in frustration. "There's a psychopath stabbing a doll in the face literally ten feet away from you. For FUN. And you're asking if _I'm_ alright?!"

"Who are you calling a psychopath?" Raph asked warily as he pulled out his sai from where the doll's eye socket should have been.

"See! You see that?" Donnie asked Leo with an agitated gesture to Raph. "How is that NOT concerning!? But hey, when Donnie raises his voice for once, someone better ask him if he's alright!"

"Donnie, take it easy…! I was just suggesting that you should take a break." Leo said defensively with a careful look at his brother. "I'm sorry, but it looked like you could really need one…"

"No, I'm sorry…" Donnie sighed, suddenly feeling bad. "I didn't mean to shout like that, I just… I need to occupy my mind with something. Anything. This is how I deal with stuff when I'm feeling stressed or-

"What are you feeling stressed about, Donnie?" April suddenly asked as she and Splinter entered the lair.

"April…!?" Donnie said in shock and quickly shoved the bucket with blimp-parts in Leo's arms before running up to greet her. "Welcome home- I mean, welcome back. I've missed you- We've missed you! I mean…H-How did training go?"

"Not great." April said with a strained smile.

"April has talent." Splinter said while stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I have no doubt that she will make a fine kunoichi one day."

"He means that it's going slow." April clarified apologetically.

"Don't be silly, you're doing great." Donnie said cheerfully and put a reassuring hand on April's shoulder. "I promise, you'll get a hang of it in no time and then you'll be-"

Donnie interrupted himself and looked at April in confusion as he quickly retracted his hand, as if the yellow color of her shirt had bitten him.

"…cold." Donnie said and stared at her in shock. "April, you're ice cold! How the… And why are your clothes wet- What on earth have you been doing?"

"Training with master Splinter." April said with a shrug.

"Training what? Winter swimming?" Donnie asked.

"Close enough." April answered with a small smile. "I've been improving my balance."

"In the pool?" Raph asked and looked up with a nostalgic grin. "Hey, I remember that. I bet it's easier to stand that water with green skin."

"This isn't funny, Raph." Donnie scolded him. "She's human! She could get a cold, or the flu, or pneumonia. Or worse!"

"Don't you think you're being a tad bit overprotective?" Leo asked him.

"What? That's preposterous." Donnie said while ushering April to the couch. "There you go. Sit down, sit down. Good. And don't move. Just sit there and dry. I'm gonna get you a towel. I'll be right back."

Donnie left in a hurry and April watched him with an uncertain expression.

"… You guys actually got towels down here?" April asked the others.

"Donnie does." Leo stated from his end of the couch and put down the bucket with the blimp parts to pick up his comic instead. "Donnie is special."

"In case you haven't noticed." Raph added with a mocking grin.

"Well, I guess none of you happen to have a hairdryer that I could borrow too?" April said jokingly and dragged a hand through her damp hair.

"We do. But Donnie is kinda using it." Leo replied without thinking.

April stared at him with a blank expression.

"You got one, _an__d_ you're using it…?" April stated.

"Oh, it's not what you think." Leo hurriedly added.

"Yeah, it's much more disturbing than that..." Raph said teasingly, receiving an angry glare from Leo.

"Actually, it pretty much blew up about twenty seconds before you guys got here." Leo clarified.

"Oh. Okay. Well that explains…" April began but then furrowed her brow. "…Nothing, really."

Donnie was suddenly back, carrying a big, blue neatly folded towel in his arms. He was about to put it around April's shoulder, but hesitated and simply handed it to her instead.

"Um… Here you go, April." Donnie said and looked away shyly.

"Thanks, Donnie." April said as she released her pony tail and shook her damp hair to let it dry, which made Donnie blush even more.

"We will continue your training tomorrow, April." Splinter told her and then glanced at the turtles. "Yours, on the other hand, begins now. Gather in the dojo. We will start immediately."

Leo, Raph and Donnie glanced at each other uneasily.

"Yeah, um… I don't think that's gonna work, Sensei." Raph stated and folded his arms.

"And why is that?" Splinter said with a stern look at Raph, making the turtle subconsciously take a step back.

"… No reason. I mean… Well, it's simple, really. And…" Raph hesitated and then glanced at Leo's direction. "… And Leo is gonna tell you all about it."

Leo gave Raph a disapproving look and sighed. He tossed his comic aside before walking up to Splinter.

"Sensei, we were wondering if…" Leo started while trying to come up with the right words. "… If we maybe could skip this training session…? Just for today, like a… Like a day off."

"A day off?" Splinter repeated with a raised eyebrow. "April didn't take the day off. The Foot most certainly doesn't take a day off. I doubt the Kraang takes a day off. Why should you get a day off?"

The awkward silence that followed was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Leo looked at his brothers for suggestions, but both Raph and Donnie just shrugged and shook their heads to show that it was all up to him.

"Well?" Splinter asked again.

"It's… It's not the training that's the problem, Sensei." Leo finally explained. "It's Michelangelo. He's not feeling too good, and I honestly don't think he can handle a training session right now."

"Is that so?" Splinter asked in mild surprise. "Are you saying that he is ill?"

"… I don't think that 'ill' is the right word for it." Leo said and scratched his neck. "He's not actually sick. He just… Sort of shut himself inside his room a few hours ago and hasn't left it since...?"

Splinter frowned at this information and April looked up from underneath the towel. She then slowly turned her eyes to Raph and gave him a blaming glare.

"What did you do?" She wanted to know.

"What did_ I_ do?!" Raph asked offended. "What kind of question is that!"

"I'd say it's a surprisingly fair one considering your track record." Donnie said with a shrug.

"Leonardo?" Splinter asked and turned to his oldest son for an elaboration.

"Well, um…" Leo said uneasily and thought about this. "A couple of hours ago, we sent Mikey out to get dinner. And… I don't know exactly how, but somewhere along the way he found a kitten. Since it was hurt, he decided to take it with him… Home."

"A cat?" Splinter asked with a disapproving look.

"A kitty?" April asked in excitement. "Oh my gosh…! Is it cute? Can I see it?"

"April… It was hurt." Leo told her with a pained expression. "…Badly."

April watched Leo with a confused expression. Her smile then faded and she stared at him in realization.

"Oh no…" April said with a devastated look.

"Donnie tried to save it." Leo continued and looked at Donnie who had sat down next to April in the couch. "But… I think it was just too late to do anything. The worst part was that Mikey really thought that it was gonna make it. And when it didn't… Well, he didn't take it very well…"

April glanced at Donnie in sympathy, but Donnie was staring down at the floor gloomily and for once didn't even notice her.

"Poor Mikey…" April said with a sad look. "But… At least he got you guys. I'm an only child, so I can't imagine how great it must be to have three brothers to talk to whenever you need some-"

Leo gave Raph an awkward look and even Donnie looked up with an uneasy expression and didn't say anything. April stared at them in disbelief.

"_Gu__ys!_" She said with an accusing look at all of them. "He's been alone in his room for hours and you haven't even tried to talk to him yet?! He's your brother!"

"To be fair; it's pretty difficult having a conversation with someone through a keyhole." Raph said defensively. "Also, since when do we have locks on those doors?"

"Oh, I installed them about two months ago." Donnie explained casually. "I must have forgotten to mention it…"

"You installed locks in our bedrooms without our knowledge?" Leo asked with a concerned look at Donnie. "Okay, we seriously need to start keeping track on what you're doing around here all day…"

"Do you wanna know the ironic part?" Donnie asked. "Mikey was the reason to why I installed those locks to begin with."

"Great." Leo sighed and turned to Splinter. "Anyway, we were kinda hoping that you could talk to him, Sensei. He never listens to me, Raph would only make it worse, and he barely understands Donnie as it is. At least you would know what to say to make him feel better."

Splinter closed his eyes and pondered for a few seconds before looking at Leo again.

"No." Splinter said.

"…No?" Leo asked in surprise. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I have no idea who this is or what he's done to Master Splinter… but I think I like him." Raph stated and looked at Splinter with interest.

"Not funny, Raph." Leo told him off before turning to Splinter again. "Sensei, he's literally keeping a shoebox with a dead kitten in his room. He's _not_ fine. You really don't think that someone should go and talk to him…?"

"Grief is not a disease that needs to be cured, Leonardo." Splinter explained. "It is a healing process. We all deal with it differently. And a locked door is usually a sign of that someone wishes to be left alone."

"I don't know..." Leo said with an uncertain glance to Mikey's room.

"Wait, hold on." April protested. "Mikey is obviously hurting over this, maybe even blaming himself. How is ignoring him gonna make him feel better?"

"I did not say ignore." Splinter said calmly.

"But you _do_ think that we should leave him alone." April continued.

"April…" Splinter said instead and gave her a look. "How did you feel when your father was abducted by the Kraang?"

"I… I was sad." April answered, surprised over the question. "How could I not be? I didn't know if he was alive or not."

"Did people try to cheer you up?" Splinter asked curiously.

"Well, yeah." April answered with a frown.

"Did it work?"

April stared at Splinter for a moment before looking down dejectedly without answering.

"Poking a fresh wound is not going to make it heal." Splinter told them. "It is important that you are there for Michelangelo when he needs you, but it is also important to let him decide that on his own. Do you understand?"

"Hai, Sensei." Leo said and nodded.

"Good." Splinter said and turned to the dojo. "We will continue your training on a later date."

"Just let me get this straight." Raph asked sarcastically. "If I lock myself in _my_ room when _I'm_ in a bad mood, then I'm allowed to skip training too?"

"_Mikey_ isn't in a bad mood every day of every week of every month of every year." Donnie stated deadpan, but then hesitated and quickly looked at Splinter with a hopeful smile. "Please say yes."

"Today you may." Splinter answered with the shadow of a smile before leaving the room to enter the dojo. "Consider this your… 'day off'."

"Huh." Leo stated when Splinter had left the room. "I… didn't think he'd let all of us skip training."

"Yeah, Mikey would be thrilled over this." Donnie said. "You know… If the very reason to why the training has been canceled wasn't because he's currently severely depressed."

"Not for long." Leo said with a confident look that was such a spitting image of Captain Ryan from Space Heroes that he must have practiced it in front of a mirror. "We're gonna get our old Mikey back."

"… Did anyone here actually miss 'old' Mikey?" Raph asked deadpan. "I mean it. I can't be the only one here enjoying the peace and quiet."

"How are you planning to do it?" April asked Leo with a frown. "You're not gonna kick down the door and drag him out by the feet, are you?"

"Wow…" Leo said with a surprised look at April. "You honestly think we would do that."

"I'm feeling a little offended." Donnie pointed out.

"Anyway, the answer is no. We're gonna make him feel _better_." Leo clarified with a smile and a nod. "It's just like you said. We're his brothers; it's our job to prevent him from ever feeling sad again."

"That's… not _exactly_ what I said." April protested with a hesitant look.

"I don't care what anyone said. I'm staying the heck out of this one." Raph stated and walked over to the pinball machine. "Without Mikey messing around, I'm finally gonna beat the lights out of Leo's high score."

"No you're not." Leo stated with little interest. "And I wasn't even gonna ask you. The idea is to cheer Mikey up, not adding more fuel to his nightmares."

"Guys, it doesn't work like that…!" April said in frustration. "You can't push someone to be happy just because you want them to be, you just can't!"

"… Can't or shouldn't?" Leo asked and tilted his head.

"Both!" April said and then sighed. "Look, Mikey doesn't need a cheerleading team. Sometimes… you just have to let a person be sad for a while. Can't anyone of you relate to that?"

The turtles, with the exception from Raph who was busy hitting the buttons on the pinball machine, looked at April with blank expressions. April's phone suddenly made a sound and she picked it up to check the text.

"Look, I have to run. But keep me posted." April said and quickly put her hair back up in a ponytail before leaving the couch. "And… Please listen to Splinter, okay? Maybe he's right. Maybe Mikey needs some time to process what happened. Just leave him alone for now, and when he feels like talking, he'll probably come out on his own."

oOoOoOo

"No, wait. You hold the box, and I wave the fumes into the keyhole." Donnie instructed.

Leo opened the lid of the box, revealing a glorious, glistening, warm pizza inside. He moved closer to Mikey's door and kept the box right outside the keyhole while Donnie was using a comic book as a fan.

"Wow… A freshly baked pizza with jelly beans, peperoni, mushroom and jalapeño." Leo announced. "It sure looks good."

"And smells good too. Mmm…" Donnie joined in with a tempting voice. "And we haven't eaten since breakfast. I don't know about you Leo, but I am _starving_."

"And its Mikey's favorite!" Leo said in pretend surprise. "What a crazy coincidence. I bet he'd like to sink his teeth into this one."

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to wait for him." Donnie continued mercilessly. "I'm soooo hungry."

"Me too, Donnie. But maybe if he shows up within the next ten seconds, he'll get a slice anyway."

The two brothers waited eleven seconds before giving each other a worried look.

"… A BIG slice then." Leo continued. "… Or two slices. Or two BIG slices-"

Donnie suddenly snatched the box away from Leo and picked up a black marker. He wrote something on the lid before handing it back to Leo again.

"Well… What do you know." Leo said cheerfully. "This pizza actually got Mikey's name on it! A whole pizza is literally lying here, begging for him to eat it. I wonder if he'll show up."

Leo and Donnie waited in anticipation for any kind of response, but the door was as likely to move as a raincloud over a parade.

"… However, since Mikey doesn't seem to want any." Leo said and picked up a slice which he dangled in front of the keyhole. "... I guess we have no choice but to eat this baby without him. In five, four… three… twoooo-"

"Save it, it's not working." Donnie stated with a sigh.

"It seems that way, huh?" Leo stated gloomily and put the slice back in the box. "Ok, plan A is officially a failure. This is kinda embarrassing…"

"_You_ think it's embarrassing?" Donnie asked with a subtle glare. "I'm supposed to be the smart one. But apparently I must have read a scientific study somewhere that you can cure depression with pizza, or why else would I be doing this?"

"… Are we're being bad brothers for thinking that this would work?" Leo said. "Though, to be fair, it's Mikey we're talking about. Food is usually the solution to most of his problems."

"Hence why we should know better…" Donnie muttered.

"This isn't over yet." Leo said and put down the pizza. "It's time for plan B."

"Isn't the reason to why people call it 'plan B' usually because it's not as good as plan A…?" Donnie pointed out.

"Donnie, don't be a cynic." Leo said and picked up the comic book which Donnie had earlier used as a fan.

"I'm not a cynic, I just like to be accurate." Donnie said in defense. "We've lived together for approximately fifteen years! How is this news to you?"

Instead of answering, Leo hid the comic behind his back and knocked on Mikey's door.

"Hey, Mikey. I brought something for you." Leo said encouragingly. "Open the door and I'll show you."

"That's a bit cheap…" Donnie said unimpressed.

"Shhh…! It might work!" Leo told him off.

The two turtles waited for a response, but the door remained shut.

"Anyway. I got in my hand the Space Heroes-comic issue 2." Leo explained to the door. "You know, the rare one that I keep in plastic which I never let you touch, but which I strongly suspect that you have done repeatedly behind my back when I weren't looking. If you want, I could give it to you. You've always wanted to lay your hand s on it, Mikey. Open the door and it's yours."

"… Is issue 2 supposed to have that many digits?" Donnie asked with a wary look at the comic.

Leo hushed at his brother and kept staring at the door for five seconds. His smile then faded and he slowly started banging his forehead against it. Donnie studied him for a moment before casually patting him on the back.

"You know that you could get a mild concussion from doing that, right?" Donnie asked.

"Right." Leo answered, but didn't elaborate the answer.

"We could ask Raph if he got any ideas." Donnie said with a skeptic look. "If he wasn't so…"

"… So busy being a jerk and in complete denial?" Leo said deadpan.

"That's pretty much it." Donnie answered. "I'd say he's not just _in_ 'the Nile', I'd say that he's practically drowning in it."

"… Was that a pun?" Leo asked and looked up at Donnie this time.

"Not if you have to ask." Donne told him and turned away. "Wait here a sec, I got an idea."

Donnie was back in less than a minute with a remote control in his hand. He showed it to Leo before knocking on the door.

"We need something to sweeten the deal." Donnie told Leo and then cleared his throat. "Um, Mikey? I think you'll like this… Right now, I'm holding the remote control to the new, improved Super Spy Blimp 2000."

"I thought it was named Spy Blimp 2.0?" Leo whispered with a raised eyebrow.

"And which one sounds cooler to you?" Donnie whispered in reply.

"… Good point." Leo admitted with a shrug.

"Anyway, I need someone with _mean finger skills_ to help me test drive it. What do you say?"

Neither the door, nor the turtle behind it, made a sound.

"I added a big red button that says 'don't push'..." Donnie said temptingly with the smile of a car salesman. "Just for you, Mikey. Don't you wanna know what it does…?"

"Oh, good one." Leo complimented Donnie.

"Thanks!" Donnie said appreciatively.

The seconds went by. After a minute, the two brothers gave each other a dejected look and sighed miserably.

"Hopeless…!" Leo said in frustration and heavily leaned his back towards the wall.

"Leo, maybe we should give up already." Donnie suggested. "April and Splinter could be right. Mikey obviously doesn't want our company right now, so maybe we should-"

A threatening growl made both Leo and Donnie turn around, only to notice Raph standing a couple of feet away from them. He had left the pinball machine a while ago to watch some TV instead. It was possible that his brothers repeated failed attempts to lure out Mikey had made it difficult for him to concentrate on the martial art movie he was trying to watch.

"Raph, what are you-" Leo said, but was soon shoved aside by the red cladded turtle who walked straight up to the door.

"HEY!" Raph yelled, loud enough for a deaf person to hear, and started ramming the door with his fist. "Stop moping already! You think you're the only one here who has ever felt a little down? I got news for you! _You're not_! The only difference is that the rest of us don't lock ourselves in our rooms like morons! So get over it already and open the freaking door!"

"Is he helping, or…?" Donnie asked Leo with an uncertain glance at Raph.

Raph went silent and panted heavily like if he was out of breath. He glared at the door intently, waiting for some kind of response. The door didn't move.

"Oh yeah!? You're just gonna ignore me, is that it?!" Raph yelled with his eyes on fire and started to tackle the door with great force. "Let's see if you can ignore a fist to your face!"

"Okay, _not_ helping!" Leo told Donnie and leaped forward to try and restrain him. "Raph! Calm down, man…! Hey! Take it easy!"

"Let go of me!" Raph growled as Donnie and Leo had grabbed one arm each and dragged him far away from Mikey's room. "I'm gonna punch him normal again!"

"Oh, that'll work! It's not like he's hurting enough as it is…!" Donnie said with a strained voice.

"Maybe he just needs a good wakeup call!" Raph growled and tried to kick himself loose from them.

"Not the kind you're thinking of." Leo breathed and had to use all of his strength in order to keep him in check. "Raph, cool off! You're _not_ breaking down that door! You hear me!?"

"I'm tired of this!" Raph said and pulled himself free from his brothers and turned to them with an angry glare "He can't stay in there forever!"

"Not likely. He has to eat at some point." Donnie pointed out in a matter of fact voice.

"Great! We starve him out!" Raph stated with his fists clenched in determination.

"Nobody's starving anyone!" Leo ruled out with a stern look at his brothers.

"The average human can survive about a week without food as long as they have access to a water supply. " Donnie continued with a pondering look, unable to leave the subject. "And assuming that Mikey hasn't installed any plumbing systems in his room lately, I'd say we can expect him out of there in approximately 72 hours or less. Give or take."

"For the last time, we're not starving him out…" Leo said and glanced at the pizza outside Mikey's room. "I think I have a better idea."

oOoOoOo

**AN**: I'm so sorry that you didn't get to see Mikey in this chapter. I know, I'm disappointed in me too…I promised myself that if there actually were people out there who liked this story and wanted to read more, I would not make them wait. I would drop everything at hand and put up the next chapter within a week! …However, Mikey's part was a little trickier to write, so in the end I didn't get done with it in time and had to cut it out. Instead, the next chapter will start from Mikey's POW.

I hope you're not too disappointed… Tell me what you like (or dislike) with this chapter. It'll help me tremendously in order to make the next one as great as possible.

And thank you for reading this far! I hope you'll stay for the whole ride. ;)

**Next time**: We finally get to meet Mikey! How is he really doing? And can his brothers help, or is it possible that their good intentions could make things worse?


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** This chapter was NOT supposed to take this long to write. I'm sorry for the delay… I got a job right now that's stealing my free time and then I had to rewrite a big chunk of this chapter because I didn't like the way it was written. This was a difficult one, but I sincerely hope that it's worth the wait.

Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites and follows! It really kept me going during my writer's block when I just wanted to smash my laptop with an iron pipe… I'm gonna stop blabbering now. Here's chapter 3. Enjoy, my friends.

oOoOoOo

Mikey was lying in his bed on his stomach with his face buried deep in the pillow. The lack of oxygen only bothered him a little... It felt like he hadn't moved from the spot for hours, but he wasn't sure. He didn't own a watch.

Mikey turned his head slightly, just enough to glance at the shoebox below his bed. As if to make sure that it was still where he had left it. He stared at it for a minute and felt a cold sensation growing menacingly in his chest the longer he looked. Mikey sighed and buried his face deep down in the pillow again.

There was a knock on the door, but Mikey didn't make any attempt to answer it. He knew who it was. Leo and Donnie were whispering outside and had been doing so for several minutes. Mikey couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he had lost interest pretty quickly, so it didn't matter. Suddenly, a faint scent of mozzarella cheese reached Mikey's nose. He inhaled the fumes and almost purred with temptation. Leo's voice was calling from the other side of the door.

"_Wow… A freshly baked pizza with jelly beans, peperoni, mushroom and jalapeño. It sure looks good."_

Mikey looked up ever so slightly. It really was the smell of freshly baked pizza that filled his room. Mikey closed his eyes and slowly breathed it in.

"_And smells good too. Mmm… And we haven't eaten since breakfast. I don't know about you Leo, but I am starving."_

The last voice was Donnie's. Mikey's eyes snapped open and he felt the coldness spreading in his chest again. He gazed down at the box...

Donnie couldn't save him. Donnie, who could fix anything Mikey broke or damaged. Why couldn't he fix this? The heavy aroma of cheese and peperoni was for the first time making Mikey feel sick. The last place he had smelled pizza was on that rooftop. Only seconds before he had seen those guys in the alley. Seen what they did.

Mikey shifted in his bed and turned his back to the door. Away from the encouraging voices and the smell. No, he wasn't in the mood for food. He wasn't in the mood for pizza…

"_Um, Mikey? I think you'll like this…" _

Mikey didn't dignify the statement with a reply, or the door with a look.

"_Right now, I'm holding the remote control to the new, improved Super Spy Blimp 2000."_

This made Mikey react. He looked at the door with something that could almost be described as interest as he patiently waited for his brother to continue.

"_Anyway, I need someone with mean finger skills to help me test drive it. What do you say?"_

Mikey had mean finger skills. He could totally test drive it. He had wanted to do it ever since Raph had demolished the first one.

Raph…

Mikey turned away again with a bitter sigh. What was the point? Raph would just smash this one too. That's what he did to Mikey and his toys. This time wouldn't be any different. And Mikey didn't actually _like_ running for his life from a sadistic maniac with drawn weapons who had issues with everything he did and said. _"Be someone else's brother for a change"._ Right now, Mikey didn't mind the idea. Donnie had to get another test pilot, though. Mikey couldn't understand how Donnie was able to fix a broken spy blimp so fast but not-

Mikey sat up in his bed and looked down at the box. What if Donnie was wrong? What if the kitten wasn't really dead? Donnie was super smart, but even he made mistakes. And maybe he had made one this time.

He jumped up from his bed and picked up the shoebox. He shut out his brothers' voices from outside the door and only focused on the box. He removed the lid and put it down on a table. The kitten was still there. Mikey didn't think it looked dead. It just looked like it was snoozing.

"Come on, little dude..." Mikey said in a low voice and poked it gently. "The big bad guys are gone. Rise and shine, you're safe and fine~"

He pushed it carefully, trying to make it move. But the kitten was just as deathly still as before. How could it be so hard to make something that looked so alive to live again…?

Mikey kept looking at the kitten, hoping for it to make a sound. Anything that would prove Donnie wrong. He didn't want Donnie to be right about this. He had to be wrong. Mikey waited. He observed the box for over a minute, waiting for any kind of sign. Mikey wasn't very good at waiting. Eventually, his shoulders slumped and he looked away from the box dejectedly. He picked up the lid and slowly put it back on with shaky hands.

A bunch of violent bangs on the door made Mikey turn to it in confusion.

"_HEY! Stop moping already! You think you're the only one here who has ever felt a little down? I got news for you! You're not! The only difference is that the rest of us don't lock ourselves in our rooms like morons! So get over it already and open the freaking door!"_

Mikey gave the door an annoyed glare. He then threw himself on the bed and defiantly covered his ears with his hands, shutting out the noise.

"_Oh yeah!? You're just gonna ignore me, is that it?! Let's see if you can ignore a fist to your face!" _

"I dunno, I can't hear you." Mikey said and closed his eyes. It was easier ignoring Raph without looking at the trembling walls and all the posters falling down from the brute force.

One part of Mikey wished that he'd never gone to get that pizza. If anyone else had gone to get it, maybe they could have done something. Donnie could have helped the kitten right on the spot. He would have saved it. And Leo was faster and better at almost everything. He would have been there in time to stop it from happening at all. And Raph… Ok, anyone but Raph.

Mikey suddenly heard an intense, drilling noise. He pressed his palms over his ears harder to shut it out, but it was too loud. In the next second, the door fell to the ground with a deafening crash and Leo and Raph jumped victoriously inside through the now open entrance, with Donnie standing outside with what seemed to be a homemade power drill.

"Wake up, Mikey. It's dinner time!" Leo announced while holding a pizza box with one hand as he cheerfully shook Mikey's shoulder with the other. "Doctor's orders. If you don't eat, you'll starve. Get up and let's go."

"I don't wanna…" Mikey mumbled and put his pillow over his head.

"Come on, it's your favorite... I think." Leo said and took a peek at the unusual pizza topping. "Well, one thing's for sure; no one else is gonna want to eat more than a slice of this thing… Anyway, let's go. Don't tell me that you're not hungry."

"I am. I just don't feel like eating." Mikey said with a muffled voice underneath the pillow.

Leo glanced at the other two turtles uncertainly.

"… Apparently, he doesn't feel like eating." Leo stated with a concerned eyebrow.

"Yes he does!" Raph said and cracked his neck before walking up to Mikey's bed. "He just doesn't know it yet…!"

"Raph, what are you-"

Raph had already grabbed Mikey's left foot and nodded at Leo to help out. Leo hesitated for a second but then smiled in agreement and tossed the pizza box over to Donnie, who didn't seem to like where this was going.

"Sorry, Mikey. It's for your own good." Leo said and grabbed Mikey's other foot. He gave Raph a sign and the two older turtles yanked each leg, forcibly pulling Mikey out of the bed.

"… Didn't we promise April explicitly that we would never do this?" Donnie asked Leo and put away the power drill.

"Are you gonna tell her?" Leo asked.

"I'd prefer not to." Donnie admitted and watched Mikey who was lying on his stomach, still hugging on to his pillow, as he was dragged across the floor by his brothers.

"Are you sure he needs more food?" Raph asked Leo and gritted his teeth from the effort. "Feels to me like he could afford to lose a few pounds…"

"Or maybe you need to work out more?" Leo asked with a teasing smile.

"What are you- Shut up!" Raph retorted and let go of Mikey's leg with one hand to punch Leo's arm.

"Um, Mikey. Here. Let me just take that for you…" Donnie told Mikey and tried to take the pillow.

But Mikey didn't want to let go of his pillow. Donnie sighed and put down the pizza box so that he could try and pull it free with both his hands. However, Mikey had the pillow in a vice grip. The scene soon escalated into the oddest kind of tug of war, where Leo and Raph were pulling at Mikey's legs as hard as they could while Donnie was trying his best to yank the pillow out of Mikey's grip. And Mikey refused to let go.

"Oh, for the love of- Just let him keep it…!" Leo panted to Donnie.

"He can't drag his pillow with him all over the floor like that, it's not sanitary." Donnie replied with a strained voice.

"Come on, Donnie! It's just a little dusty-"

"Are you kidding me?! Have you any idea of how many different kinds of bacteria are flourishing on this floor!?" Donnie protested. "_A lot_! Nobody ever cleans this place!"

"Who cares about the floor? Mikey's room is fifteen times grosser than the whole lair!" Raph argued. "If there are any diseases in that pillow, he's probably immune to every single one of 'em!"

"Fine…!" Donnie said and without warning let go of the pillow, making both Leo and Raph fall backwards on the hard floor. Mikey however was still lying limply like a lifeless doll with his face down in the pillow, seemingly not reacting to the chaos around him. Donnie looked terrified over what he accidentally had caused and studied his brothers with an uneasy look.

"… you guys weren't ready?" Donnie asked uncertainly.

"No…! Not quite!" Leo replied while rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head, and Raph glared at Donnie with the eyes of someone who was about to cause a crime scene.

"Right… Um. I'll go and… Set the table." Donnie excused himself and quickly picked up the pizza before leaving.

"Yeah, like we ever eat at the table…" Raph muttered and started dragging Mikey towards the couch.

oOoOoOo

The three older turtles studied their little brother with concerned looks. They were sitting in the couch by the TV with one slice of pizza each, but no one was eating. Instead, they were all staring at Mikey who was sitting by himself in the other end of the couch. He had a tired look on his face and was chewing idly on the tip of his slice over and over again.

"It's been twenty minutes and he's still on his first slice…!" Leo stated in disbelief while watching Mikey.

"I've never seen him eat pizza like that..." Donnie whispered with a horrified look. "How can he eat pizza like that? Nobody eats pizza like that!"

"I don't think he's eating it." Raph said, without taking his eyes off his little brother. "That slice looks bigger now than when he started."

"He probably got a lot of stuff on his mind…" Donnie said and glanced at Mikey, who didn't seem to hear their conversation or simply didn't care.

"More on his mind than in his stomach, that's for sure…" Raph said and observed Mikey. "Do you think he'd notice if I just took that slice right out of his hands?"

"_I_ would notice." Leo said sternly and glared at Raph. "And you're not stealing your little brother's food…!"

"Yeah, what's wrong with you!?" Donnie concurred with an angry look at Raph.

"Hey! It's a fair question! He's not eating it!" Raph protested and pointed at Mikey's direction.

"Yes he is!" Leo argued and looked at Mikey. "Just… Very, very slowly."

"If I were to roughly estimate the percentage of that pizza slice's mass, I'd say he's eaten about seven percent of it. Give or take." Donnie concluded after some quick calculations.

"See!" Leo told Raph triumphantly. "Seven percent is something, right, Donnie?"

"I think that depends on what standard." Donnie replied uncertainly.

"I don't care! Whatever standard that is, it's _not_ normal." Raph stated grumpily.

"I was sure that he'd feel at least a _little_ better if we made him leave his room." Donnie said and looked at his brothers.

"He probably just needs a distraction." Leo suggested with a look at the pizza. "And preferably something that's not food related…"

"You guys do realize why we usually eat in here instead of the kitchen, right?" Raph asked his brothers and waved the TV remote at them.

"So, we're basically gonna let the TV do all the work?" Donnie asked with a doubtful look.

"Why are you're making it sound like a bad thing?" Raph asked with a suspicious glare.

"I'm just starting to see a trend here." Donnie told him. "Television is being used way past its intended domain nowadays. Procrastination, babysitting, company…It's probably just a matter of time before it can do your homework or even run a small business all by itself-"

"Donnie, stop ranting. This is good." Leo interrupted him as Raph turned on the TV. "This is the perfect way to get Mikey's mind off what happened to that kitten-

"_-violent crime rate in New Yor__k City up 8% since the last month-"_

"What the heck's wrong with people!?" Leo exclaimed in shock.

The channel 6 news continued by showing some footage to illustrate the increasing violence in the city. However, most of the images were blurred out due to the graphic content.

"… That's not gonna help." Donnie stated with a queasy look.

"Raph! Switch channel or something…!" Leo told him.

Raph quickly changed channel while throwing Mikey an uneasy look to make sure that he hadn't noticed the unpleasant newscast.

"_The mother lioness tries to wake up its cub, but the damages from the 6 ton elephant's feet has-"_

"Turn it off, turn it off!" Leo whispered in panic.

"You _gotta_ be kidding me…!" Raph growled in frustration and tried to hit the power button on the remote, but the turtle's fingers were big and the buttons were small…

"That's not the off-button." Donnie pointed out.

"You just muted it!" Leo said in frustration.

"That's the menu, Raph…"

"What the- You're back to the news again!"

"… aaand now you _un_-muted it."

"What are you doing, _don't pause_!"

Raph gritted his teeth in anger and tossed the remote aside as he picked up a shuriken from his belt and threw it at the TV. The throwing star hit the power button, making it spark gleefully before the screen turned completely black. The three turtles exhaled in relief and glanced carefully at Mikey's direction. But Mikey was no longer in the couch, and the only thing left on his seat was a cold piece of pizza.

"Where did he-" Leo began but then he saw Mikey in the other end of the lair, heading towards his bedroom. "Mikey…!"

"You think it's possible that we made things worse?" Raph asked, more as a statement than a question.

"Street violence, murders and mashed lion cubs…?" Leo said with a painful sigh and covered his face with his palm. "Seriously, what are the odds? We only have three channels on that thing…! "

"Wait, Mikey. Wait…!" Donnie called out and skillfully jumped over the couch to go after him. "Don't go back to your room. You still got pizza left, and you have to eat something."

"I did." Mikey answered without looking at him.

"Two bites don't make a meal, Mikey." Donnie told him and stopped his brother by blocking the way.

"Two _bi__g_ bites..."

"Not even close." Donnie stated.

"Well… It felt like it." Mikey claimed.

"Come on, buddy. You need to eat." Donnie said and took Mikey's arm, ushering him to follow him back to the couch. "The human body, _and_ that of a mutated turtle with human DNA, needs a variety of different nutrients every day in order to function properly, like carbohydrates, proteins, minerals-"

"I don't want any carbo-minerals... And I don't want any more pizza." Mikey said miserably, not moving an inch from the spot despite Donnie's attempts.

"Well, I could make some ramen if you want?" Donnie suggested. "Nice, hot, delicious, ramen? … No? Okay, but how about we order some pizza gyoza from Murakami-san? We haven't eaten that for days. Sounds yummy, right? Or would you prefer-"

"Save it, Donnie. He's not going to eat anything." Leo sighed from the couch. "Unless you had a feeding tube in mind…"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Raph said with an unnerving grin.

"Could you be _less_ helpful?" Donnie asked Raph, not looking the least amused.

"I do what I can." Raph shrugged and picked up a comic from the floor.

"No you're not." Leo stated and walked over to his two younger brothers. "Don't listen to Raph, Mikey. If you don't want to eat, nobody's gonna force you. Let's do something fun instead. Is there anything else you'd like to do?"

"Going back to my room?" Mikey asked and glanced at Leo.

"I was thinking anything that doesn't involve you brooding for another six hours." Leo suggested.

"… Or TV, for that matter." Donnie added with a look at the TV-screen, which was still occasionally emitting tiny sparks from the damage.

"Anyway, there has to be something fun you always wanted to do." Leo coaxed. "Come on, tell us what it is and we'll make it happen. Right Donnie?"

Donnie nodded eagerly in agreement as Mikey thought about this opportunity carefully and seemed to go over his options in his mind.

"… Can I drive the shell raiser?"

Donnie's smile was slowly replaced by a horrified look and he just stared at Mikey.

"The shell raiser? Seriously?" Donnie asked with dumbfounded expression. "Are you kidding me?! Just the thought of you behind the wheel of- On these streets- There are living _people_ on those roads-"

"Yes!" Leo interrupted Donnie with small glare at his direction. "Yes, you can drive the shell raiser. Absolutely. No problem."

"Right now? In daytime? On the big roads, with real traffic?" Mikey asked, looking a little more interested now.

Donnie stared at Leo in panic and seemed to scream something to him telepathically. Leo looked less happy now than he had been eight seconds ago and was thinking closely about whether this really was such a good idea.

"… Sure. Why not." Leo said eventually and could hear Donnie slap his own face behind his back. "So, what do you say, Mikey? Let's go for it?"

"… I don't wanna." Mikey answered and his face turned back to a gloomy expression as he turned around to leave.

"What the- Why not?" Leo asked in confusion.

"I just don't feel like it." Mikey said tiredly. "Can I go back to my room now…?"

"No, you can't." Donnie said and stopped Mikey by putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not gonna feel better by shutting yourself in and shutting us out. Nothing's gonna change that way, if anything it'll only make you feel worse."

"Why do you care?" Mikey asked without even looking up at Donnie.

"Of course we care!" Donnie replied in shock. "Whatever gave you the idea that we don't?"

Mikey didn't answer and instead looked at his room, which still happened to be missing a door.

"… That's taken completely out of context." Donnie said in defense. "And for the record, that was Leo's idea. But don't worry about it. I'll fix that door in pinch."

"Yeah, 'cause you can fix anything…" Mikey mumbled bitterly.

"What are you talking about?" Donnie asked and frowned. "Is this about the-"

Donnie stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

"Mikey, listen to me." Donnie tried again. "You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened, you just can't."

"I'm _not_." Mikey replied and gave Donnie a glare.

"… What are you saying?" Donnie asked and observed his little brother in confusion.

But Mikey didn't answer this time. He brushed away Donnie's hand from his shoulder and then turned away from him. Donnie watched Mikey's back for a moment before running after him.

"…Mikey!" Donnie called out and followed him. "Look, I know that you're upset that you couldn't save that kitten-"

"Well, neither could you!" Mikey snapped to Donnie.

Donnie immediately stopped in his tracks, almost taking a step back. Mikey glared at him for a second and then turned his back to him and disappeared into his room. Donnie didn't follow him this time. He just stared in front of himself as if struck by lightning and didn't dare to move.

"Is he… Is he mad at me?" Donnie asked, looking completely baffled.

"Don't take it so hard, Donnie." Leo said and walked up to him. "It's Mikey we're talking about. He probably didn't mean any of that-"

"But he _did_ mean it." Donnie said in shock. "Why would he be mad at me? Raph's the one being a jerk!"

"Well, try and think about this from Mikey's point of view." Leo reasoned. "Raph is just being Raph. He's _always_ a jerk. But you're the one he turned to for help. I think Mikey is having a hard time accepting that even you can fail sometimes-"

"How could I NOT fail!?" Donnie asked in distress. "Did you even see the state of that cat? It wasn't just bruised, Leo. It had a broken NECK. You don't have to be a veterinarian to know that _that's_ something you just can't fix! I did _everything_ anyone _possibly_ could do in that situation, I really did. But you can't expect me to bring things back to life, how am I supposed to live up to that!? I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything, but there was nothing that could be done! It was too late, it was too hurt, it was… Just…-"

Donnie trailed off and was almost panting from the rant. Leo put a hand on his shoulder and Donnie looked up at him.

"… he can't really be blaming me for that, can he?" Donnie asked uncertainly.

"Well, to be honest, you were pretty useless back there." Raph told him from the couch, without looking up from the comic.

"Would it hurt you to be sensitive just for once?" Leo asked as Donnie gave Raph an annoyed glare.

"Yes it does, it makes my stomach feel funny…" Raph claimed sincerely.

"Okay, forget it." Leo sighed and glanced worriedly at Mikey's room. "We really need our old Mikey back, guys… Is there anything we haven't tried yet?"

"I'd say there are a whole lot of things we haven't tried yet." Donnie stated. "Doesn't necessarily mean that we should, though..."

"Are you sure this isn't one of those problems that can be solved by punching or kicking something?" Raph asked. "…Or someone?

"Positive." Leo said with a deadpan expression.

"Then I got nothing." Raph stated and returned to the comic.

"Great… Donnie. Do you have any ideas- What are you doing?" Leo asked as he noticed that Donnie had picked up his t-phone.

"My idea is to call April." Donnie replied.

Leo sighed and then snatched the phone right out of Donnie's hands.

"Hey!"

"Will you stop calling April all the time…!" Leo said in frustration.

"Yeah, maybe she needs a break from a nerdy, needy, geek once in a while. Give the girl some space." Raph said helpfully.

"I'm not needy!" Donnie protested.

"You are a little needy." Leo stated holding the phone on an arm's length away from Donnie. "You can't call her about every single thing just because you like her. We have bigger problems here."

"And that's why I'm calling her." Donnie said in annoyance and snatched back the phone. "April could have an idea of what to do about Mikey. She might be able to help."

"We already know what she thinks." Leo said and took the phone back. "She agrees with Splinter, and Splinter doesn't want us to bother Mikey."

"I think the damage is pretty much done on that part." Raph pointed out.

"It can't hurt asking her now, can it…!" Donnie said and took back the phone again with a small glare at Leo.

"And _why_ do you have to ask _her_?" Leo asked with an irritated gesture as he quickly took the phone back from Donnie. "So that you can talk to her? Hear her voice? Donnie, you obviously just want to call her because you have a crush on her. What other reason could you possibly have-"

"Because she lost her mother!" Donnie retorted.

Leo went completely silence and even Raph looked up in surprise at Donnie's outburst. Donnie didn't wait for a reply and simply took the phone back with a narrowed look.

"She's the only one here except from master Splinter who has actually lost someone, and right now, that's the closest we got to know what Mikey's going through." Donnie said and hit a button on the phone. "I don't know how to help him. You don't know. April _might_ know!"

"Okay, fine." Leo said calmly and shrugged. "Let's call April."

"Thanks- Hey!" Donnie said as Leo once again took the phone away from him.

"Not you." Leo stated. "I'll call her."

"What- Why!?" Donnie demanded to know.

"Trust me. I'm doing you a favor." Leo said while looking for April's number. "It'll seem less desperate if you let someone else do it."

"I'm not desperate!" Donnie yelled angrily.

"… I can hear that." Leo said and winced in pain from the loud noise.

Donnie looked like if he was going to say something, but then just sighed and sat down in the couch next to Raph with a gloomy expression. Raph absentmindedly patted him on the head as Leo made the call.

"Hello?" April's voice suddenly answered. "Guys, I'm just about to have dinner with my aunt. Can we take this really quick?"

"I'll try." Leo said apologetically. "Look, I know that you pretty much just left, but we wanted to ask you something. It's… kinda personal, but we really think it would help Mikey."

"So much for grieving in peace…" April mumbled before adding. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

"Just answer this question." Leo told her. "How did you cope when, you know… Your mom…"

"You're comparing my dead mom with a dead kitty?" April asked uncertainly.

"What? NO! Of course not… Well, not exactly." Leo said and slapped his forehead out of pure awkwardness.

"You sure you don't want to switch, Leo?" Donnie wondered with the hint of a victorious smile. Leo shot him a glare before returning to the phone.

"But… Since you happened to bring it up; do you have any personal experience that you think could help us, help Mikey…?"

"Wow, it was such a long time ago…" April said and thought about this. "I honestly don't remember much of it. I'm not even sure if I got anything worth sharing. I guess that when you're a kid, you kinda filter out the bad stuff and the things that made you sad."

"Well, Mikey is pretty much a kid too." Leo said with a crooked smile.

"I don't know what to say guys." April concluded. "I'm not sure what I did to cope. I suppose that my dad helped me a lot. Dealing with the whole thing, the funeral, and the-"

"Wait, that might work!" Leo said in realization.

"… My dad?" April asked.

"No, I mean that we should give the kitten a proper funeral." Leo explained. "I think Mikey would like that."

"Yeah, nothing beats a good old funeral to cheer someone up." Raph pointed out.

"That's… actually not a bad idea." April said in surprise.

"At least it would be a way for him to deal with it instead of just brooding in his room for a week or so." Donnie said.

"Are you guys serious?" Raph asked and looked at his brothers. "It's a cat!"

"People bury their pets all the time, Raph." Donnie told him.

"People start fires all the time. People rob banks all the time. It doesn't mean it's something you should do." Raph stated.

"You would do it for Spike, wouldn't you?" Donnie asked. "Though, the lifespan of reptiles from the _Testudinidae_ family is generally pretty long, and assuming that Spike is a Russian tortoise, which I've always suspected, and considering his size, we could probably expect him to stick around for another 50 years assuming he gets to keep his good health and doesn't accidentally-"

Donnie suddenly stopped talking as he noticed Raph. The red cladded turtle had dropped the comic on the floor and was staring in front of him with a horrified look written all over his face. Donnie studied him for a moment before giving him a pat on the shoulder, making Raph flinch.

"He'll probably outlive you, tough guy." Donnie said comforting.

"Shut up." Raph muttered.

"So… Where should we bury it?" Leo asked to get them back on topic. "We need a place with soft soil."

"… In New York City?" April said in disbelief. "Not likely- Could you hold on for a sec? I'M ON THE PHONE, JUST START WITHOUT ME. I DON'T CARE IF IT GETS COLD, IT DOESN'T TASTE BETTER WHEN IT'S WARM EITHER!"

"… Is her aunt deaf?" Leo asked with a pained expression while holding the phone as far away he could.

"How about a park?" Donnie suggested. "It looks nice, got lots of trees-"

"And people. We would have to wait until it gets dark." Leo said. "And that's when parks go from nice to creepy…"

"Do we really have to go so far to do it?" Raph asked. "What about the tree in the dojo?"

"I'm pretty sure Splinter would disagree on that…" Leo said.

"Sorry, I'm back now." April said in the phone. "And I think I know a place."

"Go ahead. Before Raph decides to just cremate the poor thing…" Leo said.

"Have you guys heard of New York Botanical Garden?" April asked.

"I'm guessing it's a garden." Raph said.

"I visited it with my class a few weeks ago. It's this beautiful enormous garden with plants and trees from all over the world. It's pretty cool actually."

"It _sounds_ perfect." Donnie admitted and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Almost." April added. "The problem is that they're only open to 6PM and you guys can't go there during the day without causing a freak show. No offense…"

"No worries. We'll just have to create our own opening hours." Leo said with a smile and looked at the others. "So who's gonna tell Mikey?"

oOoOoOo

Leo carefully peeked inside Mikey's bedroom. The younger turtle was lying face down in his bed again and didn't seem to have heard him. Realizing that the room still lacked a door, Leo knocked a couple of times on the wall outside instead before entering.

"Mikey? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Leo asked. "I'm not here to drag you out in your feet again, I promise."

Leo hesitated and studied the bed. Mikey was lying deathly still. It was hard to tell if he was even breathing. Leo couldn't help but feel an uneasy tug in his stomach just looking at him.

"… You sleeping, buddy?" Leo asked uncertainly.

"I can't." Mikey's muffled voice could be heard from the pillow. "… you guys are too loud."

"Um, right… Sorry." Leo laughed apologetically and invited himself in.

Leo stopped right beside the bed, thinking about what to say. He hadn't really rehearsed this and wasn't sure how to start. He started to wish that Donnie had gone in his place.

"Sooo…" Leo said and looked at Mikey. "How are you feeling?"

Mikey didn't move nor give any sort of sign that he had even heard the question.

"… I guess that none of us have really asked you that today, huh?" Leo admitted with a rueful smile

"No you haven't…" Mikey mumbled in response.

"Well, we should have." Leo stated and scratched his neck. "Look, I just wanted to say sorry."

"For what?"

"Anything you can think of." Leo answered with a sigh. "We should have thought more about your feelings. You know, instead of cheering you up just to make us feel better..."

"… You didn't." Mikey told him sulkily.

"Yeah, we pretty much sucked at it." Leo said with a semi smile. "But to be fair, I'm not really cut out for this sort of stuff, none of us are. Raph got the same emotional capacity as gravel, and Donnie... Well, Donnie is special."

Mikey made a huffing sound but didn't say anything.

"You _were_ kinda rough on him earlier." Leo told Mikey and looked away casually. "He did NOT take that well."

"I didn't see it." Mikey simply replied.

"Then you should have stayed for the whole show." Leo explained with a smile. "I don't think even a rejection from April could make him feel that bad. He was pretty crushed, I'm telling you."

Mikey was quiet but turned his head ever so slightly towards him. Leo could see a hint of regret in his eyes.

"What I'm trying to say is that he's beating himself up enough as it is." Leo said. "And being as obsessive compulsive as Donnie is, he'll probably be doing it over and over again…Do you really think he deserves that?"

"No…" Mikey admitted before burying his face in the pillow again.

"Good. Now, I just wanted to- Seriously, how are you even breathing through that thing?" Leo interrupted himself while watching Mikey. "…Are you getting any air?"

"Sort of." Mikey mumbled. "Or maybe it's the same I breathe out… I dunno, it smells funny…"

"Stop it. Donnie says that it's bacteria from the floor." Leo said. "Anyway, the thing we were talking about earlier… Well, it's about the kitten."

Mikey sighed miserably from somewhere inside the pillow and buried his face deeper into the home of floor bacteria.

"I know that you… didn't get the chance to say goodbye or anything." Leo continued, trying to not sound too awkward. "So, we came up with an idea. Would you care to hear it?"

Leo paused to give his brother a chance to respond, but Mikey didn't say anything. Leo then sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Well, since you're not exactly in the position to stop me…" Leo stated and scooted right next to Mikey. "Here's the idea. What do you say about giving that kitten a proper funeral?"

Leo watched Mikey's reaction carefully, patiently awaiting the answer. But Mikey didn't answer. After a minute, Leo's shoulders slumped and he got up from the bed with a dejected look and went to the door.

"… a funeral?" Mikey suddenly asked and looked up.

"Yes…!" Leo hurriedly said and quickly sat down on the bed again. "A nice one. April have some really good ideas, she can tell you all about it. It'll be good, I promise."

Mikey took in this information and Leo could tell that he was processing the whole idea in his mind. He then turned to Leo with a glimmer of interest in his eyes.

"So where is the funeral?" Mikey asked curiously.

"Don't worry, it's perfect. We'll go as soon as it gets dark." Leo told him with a smile. "And yeah, there's one tiny detail… We're gonna have to break in to a botanic garden. No biggie, just the usual. So… what do you think of all this?"

Mikey hesitated for a moment and then reached down for the box underneath his bed.

"… You've kept the kitten under your bed this whole time?" Leo wondered with an uncertain look.

Mikey looked at Leo while making a perfect impression of a living question mark.

"… Or maybe there simply isn't such a thing as a "good" place to keep a dead kitten." Leo admitted.

Mikey sat up and then opened the lid. Leo and Mikey both watched the tiny kitten inside the box for a minute without as much as saying a word.

"Do you think he'd like that?" Mikey asked. "A funeral?"

"I wouldn't know." Leo said sincerely. "I guess… You knew him better than anyone. I think it's all up to you."

Mikey looked at Leo and then back to the kitten again with a furrowed brow.

"… I think he would." Mikey stated and closed the lid.

"You know what, I think so too." Leo agreed.

There was suddenly another knock on the wall outside the room. Leo and Mikey turned around only to see Donnie inviting himself in.

"Don't mind me, I'm not staying." Donnie explained. "Um, Leo? Can I have a quick word with you?"

"About what?" Leo asked

"It's about… Um, just a sec. Have you told Mikey yet…?" Donnie asked with an uncertain look at his little brother.

"Don't worry, he's all for it." Leo said and nodded towards Mikey.

"Oh, okay. Good." Donnie said and cleared his throat a little. "Well, I've run "botanic garden" in an online search engine to find out the most efficient way to get there by night and, more importantly, what kind of equipment we ought to bring in order to break in without any problem."

"That's… good I suppose?" Leo said with a raised eyebrow. "Then what _is_ the problem?"

"I've counted five of them." Donnie answered.

"Gardens?" Leo asked in surprise.

"Botanic ones." Donnie confirmed.

"So what? Just pick the closest one." Leo told him.

"We can't do that. April said that the one she visited was perfect." Donnie protested. "We have to choose the one she went to."

"Then choose the one she went to." Leo replied simply.

"Yes, I've been searching for every botanic garden in as close proximity of New York City as possible because she mentioned the address!" Donnie retorted.

"Fine, ask her." Leo said tiredly. "And yes, this time _you_ can call her-"

"Hello, April? Hi, it's Donatello!" Donnie said with a gleeful voice as he had already picked up his phone. "So, there's a few details I wanted to ask you about…"

Leo and Mikey watched Donnie in a mix of confusion and disbelief as the purple cladded turtle happily left the room.

"Dude, does he have April on speed dial or something?" Mikey asked out loud.

"Mikey, I think he _invented_ those t-phones just to have April on speed dial." Leo concluded, without even a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

oOoOoOo

**Next time:** Let's see how smoothly you can break into a botanic garden to arrange a non-authorized cat funeral, shall we? Also, what about those thugs? Should we move on and forgot about what they did? I think not...

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading this far! As I mentioned earlier, this chapter was very difficult for me to write… So if you have a few extra seconds to spare, PLEASE tell me what you think of it. Anything! Good or bad? Did I do something wrong? Or right for that matter? I really, REALLY need to know what you guys think in order to make the next chapter as enjoyable as possible. (I don't have that good self-esteem, so if nobody tells me anything, I usually assume that my work sucks...)  
Thank you. ^^


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